Afraid // Calum Hood

Chapter 31 // Buts

Adelaide's Point of View

A smile formed onto my plump lips at the sight of the three boys all completely passed out on the floor of my living room, their bodies snuggled up against each other. After playing stupid board games and having never-ending conversations for the entire night, they finally fell asleep while watching a film. It was too cute to wake them and redirect them to the bedrooom, so I guess I would just have to suffer through listening to them complain about their sore backs tomorrow morning.

I carefully tip-toed away from the sleeping beauties and headed upstairs. My hands grasped the window in the guest bedroom and pressed it up and I manuevered my way through it to take a seat on my sturdy roof. The dark sky was illuminated by the layers of bright stars peeking out beneath the thick clouds. The waves from the ocean were crashing as loud as ever with the gentle breeze from them whipping across my face gently. 

I figured that if I was going to have the dreaded conversation with my mother, it might as well be up here where it is absolutely serene and where I am not able to disturb anyone. My shaky hands dialed my mother's number and I lifted the cell phone to my ear, waiting for her to pick it up. 

"Adelaide?" Her soothing tone greeted in confusion. "Are you alone now?"

"Yeah," I replied nonchalantly. "So can we discuss the plans for next week? Because I really do not want to come home. This is my home now and I'm intending on staying here."

My mom scoffed. "You've lived there for two months. There is no way Australia can be your home. Your home is wherever your family is. Your home is America."

I shook my head, although she couldn't see it. "No, it's not. Home isn't just a place. It's a feeling. I feel at home here, Mom. It's because of Calum, and my friends, and my job, and my beautiful house. I'm not coming back. I'll come visit, of course, but this is where I want to live."

"Your job? Honey, you work part time at a florist. Unless you want to become a florist, that job isn't going to help you with anything in life. We made an arrangement for you to find a steady career path and you haven't. So you're coming home and you're enrolling in college again. You'll finish your degree in biology and your dad will help you get into med school. You can be a nurse like you wanted to when you were little." 

My fingers gripped tighter onto my phone as my fury and impatience with my mother grew deeper. "When I was little! I don't want to be a nurse anymore. I hate sick people and I hate blood. How on Earth would I make a nurse? Shouldn't I be allowed to pick an occupation that makes me happy? Why do I need to make all these decisions now? Can't I just be happy for once?"

She sighed almost as loud as how I desired to scream. "Adelaide, we just want the best for you. I'm not going to let my daughter have absolutely no money and waste her life away. A nurse is a stable job. Don't you want to make your parents proud?"

A dog-like growl escaped my lips. "Honestly, I couldn't give a crap about making you guys proud because of my job. You should be proud of me for being brave enough to move across the world. You should be proud of me for being a good human being who cares about others. You should be proud of me for falling in love."